I regret my PSN username. When I made it, I didn’t see myself getting a PS3. I’ve always been a single player and local multiplayer kind of girl, so I wasn’t really thinking when I decided on a moniker. I had a PSP and wanted to buy some games from the PlayStation Store. So, I went with an old moniker. One that I might have, at one point in time (high school), written fanfiction and made kisekae dolls under. Since it was surprisingly taken, I tacked some numbers onto the end.
Fast forward 7 years, and I’m actually a little embarassed by it. Partially, because it makes me feel old. Why did I use the year I was born as the extra numbers? And not just the last two digits, but I went ahead and put the full year! Why did I put numbers in at all? I mean, I’m not ashamed about the part of it that hints at my (incredibly) geeky past. But my PSN name dates me.
For years, I’ve had to just deal with it. I have so much tied to this account. So many friends, purchases and trophies are all there. I may be a little vain, but not enough to start over entirely. And I know I’m not the only one. I’ve met others–friends, strangers I bonded with over Mass Effect 3 and Persona 4 Arena ‘s multiplayer, and even family. If we could do it over, we would, but Sony has never given us the chance. Even though it seems like such a simple thing.
Until now. A survey has gone out to PS4 owners asking about features and lo, the company asks if we want the ability to change a PSN username on it. It seems like some kind of small miracle. But the real question is, why does Sony even feel like they have to ask?
Here, I’ll Google “change PSN name” right now. Let’s see, there are about 3,830,000 results in 0.40 seconds. The first result is even the page from Sony’s PlayStation support site directly addressing that issue. You’d think, with that kind of immediate response, Sony wouldn’t need to even ask. People have been calling for the ability to make a change for years.
The company shouldn’t have to ask. It shouldn’t be on the survey. When the question came up, perhaps at a company pow-wow, someone should have taken out their smartphone and done a quick search. “Do people want the ability to change their PSN username?” That’s their answer, right there.
And, while I’d hope such a feature would be free, the ability to change a PSN username could have made them money. That alone should have been enough to make executives implement it. Pay $4.99 to finally stop being CoDKittens8227314! They’d have made thousands. I’d have done it, and I’m notoriously cheap when it comes to silly things like avatars and online identities. Or, more likely, make the first change free and charge for subsequent changes. Sony would have made users happy and had a chance to pad their bottom line.
We’ve wanted the ability to change our PSN usernames for years. For all the money we spend on games, I think we might even deserve it. So let’s forget the survey and it’s results. Let’s see Sony finally remove the digital trampstamps that PSN usernames like 2L3372B7rU3332u. (And if that really is your name, then I’m so, so sorry. My deepest condolences.)